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FINTECH NEWS: When Fintech Meets Healthcare: How can cryptocurrencies and blockchain improve access to healthcare?

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are used in a wide array of new applications – including in healthcare. Fintech start-ups are the catalyst for many of these recent market innovations – and they aren’t just focused on the banking and financial services sector. While finance is necessary for individuals and organisations of all sizes, both can struggle to access it. Yet recent advances in Fintech suggest this disparity can be addressed by capturing the market value of data and repurposing it as payable “currency”. This radically new decentralised finance (DeFi) concept is one that many, including healthcare administrators, are starting to take seriously.

With the COVID-19 pandemic showing how critical it is to have access to high-quality healthcare, and with access to it in some parts of the world falling short because of poverty and other factors, the likes of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) are currently exploring how the obstacles to healthcare access can be overcome in Dominique Vervoort et al’s BMJ Innovations article, “Blockchain, health disparities and global health”.

Vervoort and his co-authors Camila R Guetter and Alexander W Peters write: “Health disparities remain vast around the world and are perpetuated by error-prone information technology systems, administrative inefficiencies and wasteful global health spending. Blockchain technology, a novel, distributed peer-to-peer ledger technology, is increasingly used in various industries to disintermediate, improve efficiency and transparency and reduce costs; however, its use in healthcare and global health has remained limited.”

Improve access to healthcare, read the complete article. 

Client: Decentr. Published by Techbullion on 6th September 2021. Author: Graham Jarvis.

Automation Allowing Treasurers to Piece Together Balances and Cash Reports

Advances in technologies that allow for automation of processes have “completely revolutionised the forecasting process” for treasurers, according to Brett Turner, CEO of Trovata.

Having a multi-bank application programming interface (API) data platform is “paramount if you are seeking digital transformation.” He points out that many cash-centric workflows in treasury are binary and that if a treasurer doesn’t have all of their banks reporting, “it’s really hard to take action with a high degree of confidence.”

In August, Trovata and ICD launched an integrated corporate treasury solution.

It comes in the midst of a number of high profile announcements involving treasury and transaction services automation, as banks and corporates look to stem problems created by the pandemic: in August, Finastra announced it would be helping CIH Bank automate a number of its trade and supply chain finance services. 

Learn more about how automation is allowing treasurers to "piece together and cash reports."

Client: The Global Treasurer. Published on 7th September 2020. 

Egypt attempts to plug FX hole

Coronavirus exposes cracks in Egypt’s macroeconomic stabilisation. 

The state of Egypt’s security and macroeconomic stabilisation has been further weakened by the global coronavirus pandemic, according to think tank the Arab Reform Initiative (ARI).

The organisation’s August 2020 research paper reported that while the country remains stable on the surface, it continues to have deep structural problems with militarisation of the economy, claims of corruption and a shortfall in remittances from Egyptians working in oil-rich Gulf countries...

Discover more about how Egypt is plugging its FX hole.

Client: The Global Treasurer. Published on 7th September 2020.  

Is RPA a Stopgap in Automating Complex Banking Compliance Processes?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is proven to deliver cost-savings whenever it is used to automate simple processes. However, for more complex banking processes it comes with a warning to avoid over-utilising it, and, the predominant view is that enterprise architects should focus on using robust, scalable, APIs connected using proven and secure technology. Yet RPA still has its supporters in the banking and financial services world – despite the complexities of Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) processes.

Accenture Consulting’s whitepaper, ‘Evolving the AML journey: Operational Transformation of Anti-Money Laundering Through Robotic Process Automation’, begins by highlighting the cost-benefits of RPA. It also claims that RPA can boost “throughput and improve quality, while remaining compliant across the AML ecosystem.” The introduction of the 2016 report cites other benefits too: they include an implementation period of just 6-8 weeks, higher staff satisfaction by “eliminating monotonous tasks and allowing individuals to focus on higher value work”, reduce incidents caused by human error and – perhaps controversially to some – fewer full-time employees will also work on repetitive tasks...

Learn more about whether Robotic Process Automation is a stopgap for automating complex banking compliance processes.

Published by Arachnys on 7th January 2020. Client: Arachnys. Author: Graham Jarvis. 

 

Sibos 2019 Day 1: Helping Banks Thrive In The New Real Time Open Environment

Sibos Day One was teeming with people bustling from stand to stand, and was filled with informative presentations from some of the greatest influencers and companies in the payments and banking space, sharing their predictions, concerns and insights.

Renowned physicist Professor Brian Cox opened the conference at Excel in London with a reminder about trust as one of the central themes of this year’s conference agenda. His presentation focused on what science can teach us about wider society. As part of his presentation he made mention of a couple of physicists who worked on the Manhattan Project during WWII, one of which was Julius Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer claimed that nature forces us to look at the world in a particular way; it’s a harsh master says Cox to the extent that “there is no dodging what nature tells you.”

Learn more from Prof. Cox, and about how it's possible to help banks to thrive in the new real-time open environment. 

Published by Smart Payments on 24th September 2019. Client: Bottomline Technologies. Author: Graham Jarvis. 

Banking: Why Freedom of Choice is Needed in the Industry

Banks are traditionally known for being slow to innovate, leaving them with slow processes and outdated applications. Even though the European Union’s Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) requires banks to open up their payments infrastructure and customer data assets to third parties, the traditional view often sticks. Large banks are therefore still viewed as being monopolistic in their behaviour and in what they offer their customers.

Find out how banks can change, read this interview with bunq’s founder Ali Niknam and featuring Chris Skinner - independent commentator on the financial markets and fintech. 

Published by The Economist in a supplement about the Future of Banking Payments in 2019. Author: Graham Jarvis. Client: Noahs Media. Produced for bunq. 

 

The True Cost of Laptop Ownership for IT and Finance Managers

In this article for Impact Magazine (page 9), Graham Jarvis looks at “THE TRUE COST OF LAPTOP OWNERSHIP FOR IT AND FINANCE MANAGERS. Bit.ly/2DCNzVL

Author: Graham Jarvis. 

The Changing Face of the Venture Capitalist

Fintech has changed the financial trading and investing landscape. Traditional investors and early stage adopters can take advantage of new technologies that allow global investment opportunities in a tokenised industry. Yet blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT), as well as cryptocurrencies, aren’t without their critics.

Find out what the changing face of the VC looks like, read the complete article. 

Published by FinTech Futures, Banking Technology, on 4th July 2018. Author: Graham Jarvis. 

Are Cryptocurrencies the Future of Venture Capital?

Alexander Tkachenko and Nigel Green discuss the potential impact of cryptocurrencies on the future of venture capital.

To many, cryptocurrencies and blockchain are the latest trend in venture capital markets. Founder of Venture Exchange (VNX-io), Alexander Tkachenko, doesn’t agree though. He explains that cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, are often being used to fund established companies and start-ups through initial coin offerings (ICOs).

However, these aren’t strictly venture capital investments, but crowdfunded ones and alarmingly, a small number of theses have been marked as scams, and education in the market is desperately needed to protect future investors.

So, are cryptocurrencies the future of venture capital? Click here to read the complete article. 

Published by Information Age on 25th June 2018. Author: Graham Jarvis. 

Banking and Financial Services: New Tech Solves GDPR

Looming on the horizon for failing to comply is a dark cloud of significant financial penalties.

“...Even if a blockchain or DLT-based system could ensure that data is kept private, and it is doubtful whether such a system can do so as they rely on any participant being able to validate any previous transaction in a chain, then every node in a blockchain or DLT must now comply fully with the GDPR, regardless of where that node is based”, comments Lars Davies, CEO of Kalypton. He adds: “Any node passing on data that could identify an individual must ensure that every other node in the chain complies with the GDPR...”

Find out more about how new technology solves GDPR, read the complete article.

Published by IT Pro Portal magazine on 15th September 2017. Author: Graham Jarvis, Business and Technology Journalist. #YearInReview #Kalypton